Mawangdui Travel

Mawangdui is located on the eastern out-skirts of Changsha city, 4 kilometers away from the center of the city. Formerly there was a saddle-shaped mound, where it was said that King Ma Yin of the Chu State in the Five-Dynasty period was buried and hence the name of Mawangdui (the Burial-Mound of King Ma). Between 1972 and early 1974, three Han dynasty tombs were excavated here and the place became world-known for its abundant cultural relics and the well-preserved female corpse. They are of great value in studying the politics, economy, culture, military affairs and science of the early Han dynasty. The three Han tombs at Mawangdui were immense. The occupant in Tomb No.1 was the wife of Li Cang, chancellor to the Prince of Changsha and Marquis of Dai. Li Cang himself was in Tomb, No. 2 and his son in Tomb No.3. Unearthed from the Tombs are more than 3,000 pieces of cultural relics including books copied on silk, painting at silk, bamboo slip, lacquer ware, embroidery and silk fabrics, wooden figurines pottery agricultural and livestock products, and traditional Chinese medicinal herbs. Now they are all displayed in the Museum of Hunan province.